| Advertisement |
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When Jimmy Garoppolo fell to a knee in front of the New England Patriots bench Sunday afternoon after suffering a shoulder injury at Gillette Stadium it appeared the third-year fill-in quarterback had suffered a major injury. The former second-round pick appeared to be in immense pain, especially when New England's medical staff manipulated the injured area.
Advertisement
But just two days later the reports out of Foxborough indicated that Garoppolo suffered a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder, an injury that's as much about pain management as anything else, and could even be available for Thursday night's battle at home against the Texans (2-0).
New England reportedly worked out former Houston passer T.J. Yates, but chose to stick with the status quo at quarterback. And Tom Brady is still two games away from returning from his four-game Deflategate suspension.
That means that Jacoby Brissett, fresh off holding on for the victory in the second half of last Sunday's win over Miami, could make his first career start. The rookie third-round draft pick completed 6 of 9 throws against the Dolphins, nursing what was a 31-3 lead into a 31-24 victory.
He may be asked to do more as a starter, but the youngster at least is trying to convince those around him that a starting nod won't change his approach.
"It's the same preparation every week," Brissett said after Tuesday's practice. "It's been a learning process since I got here. It's going to continue to be. Just taking this week the same. I'm just worried about Thursday."
Coach Bill Belichick was peppered with questions about Garoppolo's health and not adding a quarterback to the roster in his only press conference of the week, but the coach maintained his usual evasive style in his responses.
"It's based on what's in the best interest of the football team," Belichick said. "A player's personal situation, his health, always comes first, all right? That always comes first. That's not a football decision. That's a medical decision. Football decisions are based on what's best for the football team. That's what we've always done around here. That's what we'll always do as long as I'm here. That will never change. We'll always do what's best for the football team. That's what it's all driven by.
"I do what's best for the football team. Let me put it a different way -- I'm the coach; I do what's best for the football team. I don't know why we can't understand that."
When asked about the challenge of preparing Brissett for his potential ascension, at least for a week, Belichick turned the focus to what his entire team has in store.
"I mean the Texans are a great football team. They do a lot of things well, so as a staff we're challenged in all three phases of the game to prepare for them," Belichick said. "They're excellent on offense, defense, special teams, good against the run, good against the pass, they can run it, they can throw it, they can kick it, they can cover kicks, they can return it, so they do a lot of things well. (There are) a lot of challenges this week."
Belichick did acknowledge that he has liked what he has seen since his somewhat raw rookie out of North Carolina State arrived in Foxborough.
"Jacoby has done a good job for us. He has improved every day," Belichick said. "He's a hard-working kid. He's in here early. He stays late, he studies the game mentally. He has got good physical talent. He has improved steadily since he has been here since back in the draft, in May, all the way through."
And while the focus this week has been on the quarterback position -- for good reason -- Belichick is clear to point out that his entire team is in the same situation, not just the quarterbacks, as New England works through a short week trying to stay undefeated on the season.
"I think the entire team is kind of in the same boat," he said. "We're 2-0 which is good. Certainly (there are) a lot of things that we can do better. We can coach better, we can play better, we can overall in different units execute better collectively, not just individually. We can improve fundamentals, so I think we're all in the same boat. We've all got a lot of work to do. We're into the season. We've got a long way to go. I'd say that's pretty much the same story for everybody no matter who the player is or what positon they are. I don't think anybody's where they need to be. Everybody's working hard, we're improving, we're getting better. We've got a long way to go."
On Thursday night, with Brady's return from his suspension still weeks away and Garoppolo dealing with a painful shoulder injury, they may have to try to get there with the unproven Brissett under center against Houston.
